Overview

Brief Summary

Description

Eastern Cottontails share habitats with seven other cottontails and six species of hares. They have been transplanted to areas outside their historically widespread range, which included swamps, prairies, woodlands, and forests. They have two ways of escaping danger: a zig-zag dash or a slink, in which they creep along, low to the ground, with their ears back. Eastern Cottontails are among the most prolific lagomorphs. Females can have seven litters a year, producing as many as 35 young. Litters, usually of 3 6, are born in a fur-lined nest of dried grasses and leaves.

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The eastern cottontail has the widest distribution of any Sylvilagus. It is found from southern Manitoba and Quebec to Central and northwestern South America. In the contiguous United States, the eastern cottontail ranges from the east to the Great Plains in the west.

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Geographic Range

Eastern cottontails are only native to the Nearctic region. They are found from southern Ontario and Manitoba in Canada to central and northwestern South America. In the United States, they range from the east coast to the Great Plains in the west. They have been introduced into portions of the western United States.

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The eastern cottontail range extends from the Great Plains andthroughout the eastern United States and extreme southern Canada souththrough eastern Mexico and central America and west into parts of Texas,New Mexico, and Arizona [17,27]. Transplanted eastern cottontails haveestablished large breeding populations in Washington and Oregon [48].The range of eastern cottontail overlaps those of six other cottontails(Sylvilagus spp.) and six species of hares (Lepus spp.) [10].

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Physical Description

Morphology

Adult eastern cottontails reach a length of 395 to 477 mm. A dense, buffy brown underfur and longer, coarser gray- and black-tipped guard hairs cover the back of the eastern cottontail. Its rump and flanks are gray, and it has a prominent rufous patch on its nape. The ventral surface is white. The eastern cottontail shows the white underside of its short tail when it is running. This rabbit undergoes two molts per year. The spring molt, lasting from mid-April to mid-July, leaves a short summer coat that is more brown. From mid-September to the end of October, the change to longer, grayer pelage occurs for winter. The eastern cottontail has four pairs of mammary glands. It also has distinctive large eyes for its size.

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Physical Description

Eastern cottontails have two different fur coats each year. During the summer they have short brown fur with a white belly. During the winter the fur becomes longer and grayer, with a white belly. All year long the underside of the tail is white. This white tail is the source of their common name. Adult eastern cottontails reach a length of 395 to 477 mm. They also have very large eyes for their size. Females are slightly larger than males.

The diet of S. floridanus is variable, depending on the type of habitat and the season, including woody plants in the dormant season and herbaceous plants in the growing season (Chapman et al. 1980). Breeding season varies depending on elevation and latitude, with breeding activity beginning later at higher elevations and northern latitudes (Chapman et al. 1980). Average gestation time is 28 days and size at birth ranges from 3.06-5.06 cm (Lorenzo and Cervantes 2005). Litter sizes are 3-5 with 3-4 litters per year (Lorenzo and Cervantes 2005). Total length ranges from 33.5-48.5 cm (Lorenzo and Cervantes 2005).

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Historically, the eastern cottontail inhabited deserts, swamps and hardwood forests, as well as rainforests and boreal forests. Currently, the eastern cottontail prefers edge environments between woody vegetation and open land. Its range of habitats includes meadows, orchards, farmlands, hedgerows and areas with second growth shrubs, vines and low deciduous trees. The eastern cottontail occurs sympatrically with many other leporids, including six species of Sylvilagus and six species of Lepus.

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Comments: Early mid-successional habitats over much of continental U.S. May be found in brushy areas, open woodlands, swampy areas, stream valleys, grasslands, and suburbs. Very adaptable species. Usually absent from boreal habitats and dense woods. Nests usually are in shallow depressions in thick vegetation or in underground burrows. Does not dig burrows.

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Historically, Eastern cottontails inhabited a variety of habitat types, including deserts, swamps, and forests. They are now most often found in meadows, orchards, farmlands, bushes and areas with low bushes, vines and low deciduous trees.

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Cover Requirements

Eastern cottontails forage in open areas and use brush piles, stonewalls with shrubs around them, herbaceous and shrubby plants, andburrows or dens for escape cover, shelter, and resting cover [17].Woody cover is extremely important for the survival and abundance ofeastern cottontails [1]. Eastern cottontails do not dig their own dens(other than nest holes) but use burrows dug by other species [27]. Inwinter when deciduous plants are bare eastern cottontails forage in lesssecure cover and travel greater distances [1]. Eastern cottontailsprobably use woody cover more during the winter, particularly in areaswhere cover is provided by herbaceous vegetation in summer [9]. InFlorida slash pine flatwoods, eastern cottontails use low saw-palmetto(Serenoa repens) patches for cover within grassy areas [38].

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Preferred Habitat

Optimal eastern cottontail habitat includes open grassy areas,clearings, and old fields supporting abundant green grasses and herbs,with shrubs in the area or edges for cover [34]. The essentialcomponents of eastern cottontail habitat are an abundance ofwell-distributed escape cover (dense shrubs) interspersed with more openforaging areas such as grasslands and pastures [1]. Habitat parametersimportant for eastern cottontails in ponderosa pine, mixed species, andpinyon (Pinus spp.)-juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodlands include woodydebris, herbaceous and shrubby understories, and patchiness [50].Typically eastern cottontails occupy habitats in and around farmsincluding fields, pastures, open woods, thickets associated withfencerows, wooded thickets, forest edges, and suburban areas withadequate food and cover. They are also found in swamps and marshes andusually avoid dense woods [17,27]. They are seldom found in deep woods[27].

In Michigan abandoned farmlands in various stages of succession wereassessed for eastern cottontail habitat. Eastern cottontails werepresent in all stages, but were most abundant from the fourth to thesixth years after the last crop. Most use occurred in grass/perennialsand mixed herbaceous perennials. Hayfields were preferred as nestingsites. Eastern cottontail numbers decreased through succession astolerant trees and canopy cover increased and shrubby ground coverdecreased [4].

In western South Dakota eastern cottontails are associated withblack-tailed prairie dog (Cynomys ludovicianus) colonies due to thepresence of higher vegetative diversity around black-tailed prairie dogcolonies than in the surrounding prairie [53].

In the Southeast eastern cottontails were most abundant in cultivatedareas, broomsedge (Andropogon virginicus) fields, and pine-hardwoods [44].

Home Range: The eastern cottontail home range is roughly circular inuniform habitats. Eastern cottontails typically inhabit one home rangethroughout their lifetime, but home range shifts in response tovegetation changes and weather are common [1]. In New England easterncottontail home ranges average 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) for adult males and1.2 acres (0.48 ha) for adult females [43] but vary in size from 0.5acre to 40 acres (0.2-16.2 ha), depending on season, habitat quality,and individual [17]. The largest ranges are occupied by adult malesduring the breeding season. In southwestern Wisconsin adult male homeranges averaged 6.9 acres (2.8 ha) in spring, increased to 10 acres (4.0ha) in early summer, and decreased to 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) by late summer[61]. Daily activity is usually restricted to 10 to 20 percent of theoverall home range [1].

In southeastern Wisconsin home ranges of males overlapped by up to 50percent, but female home ranges did not overlap by more than 25 percentand actual defense of range by females occurred only in the immediatearea of the nest. Males fight each other to establish dominancehierarchy and mating priority [61].

Population Density: Local concentrations of up to eight easterncottontails per acre (20/ha) have been recorded, but densities areusually lower [9]. In Kansas peak population density was 2.59 rabbitsper acre (6.4/ha) [3]. Density is regulated by mortality and dispersal[9,25].

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Migration

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

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Trophic Strategy

The eastern cottontail is a vegetarian, with the majority of its diet made up of complex carbohydrates and cellulose. The digestion of these substances is made possible by caecal fermentation. The cottontail must reingest fecal pellets to reabsorb nutrients from its food after this process. Their diet varies between seasons due to availability. In the summer, green plants are favored. About 50% of the cottontail's intake is grasses, including bluegrass and wild rye. Other summer favorites are wild strawberry, clover and garden vegtables. In the winter, the cottontail subsists on woody plant parts, including the twigs, bark and buds of oak, dogwood, sumac, maple and birch. As the snow accumulates, cottontails have access to the higher trunk and branches. Feeding activity peaks 2-3 hours after dawn and the hour after sunset.

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Food Habits

Eastern cottontails are herbivores. Most of their diet consists of grass. In the summer they also eat wild strawberries, clover, and garden vegetables. In the winter they will eat twigs and bark of trees. In order to get all of the nutrition out of these plants, eastern cottontails will eat their own feces to have a second chance to absorb the nutrients.

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Food Habits

The diet of eastern cottontails is varied and largely dependent onavailability. Eastern cottontails eat vegetation almost exclusively;arthropods have occasionally been found in pellets [15]. Some studieslist as many as 70 [15], 100 [16], or 145 plant species [39] in localdiets. Food items include bark, twigs, leaves, fruit, buds, flowers,grass seeds, sedge fruits, and rush seeds. Numerous studies of localeastern cottontail diet are summarized by Chapman and others [9]. Thereis a preference for small material: branches, twigs, and stems up to0.25 inch (0.6 cm) [26]. Leporids including eastern cottontails arecoprophagus, producing two types of fecal pellets one of which isconsumed. The redigestion of pellets greatly increases the nutritionalvalue of dietary items [9,17,48].

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Associations

Eastern cottontails can escape predators with their fast, jumping form of locomotion. They can run at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. They will either flush, freeze, or slink to escape danger. Flushing is a fast, zig-zag dash to an area of cover. Slinking is moving low to the ground with the ears laid back to avoid detection. Freezing is simply remaining motionless.

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Predation

Eastern cottontails can escape predators with their fast, jumping form of locomotion. They can run at speeds of up to 18 miles per hour. They will either flush, freeze, or slink to escape danger. Flushing is a fast, zig-zag dash to an area of cover. Slinking is moving low to the ground with the ears laid back to avoid detection. Freezing is simply remaining motionless.

Predators that take nestlings include raccoon, badger (Taxidea taxus),skunks (Mephitis and Spilogale spp.), and Virginia opossum (Didelphismarsupialis) [52]. In central Missouri eastern cottontails comprisedthe majority of biomass in the diet of red-tailed hawks (Buteojamaicensis) during the nesting season [60]. In Pennsylvania the chiefpredator of eastern cottontails is the great horned owl [52].

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General Ecology

In Wisconsin, home range varied from less than 0.4 ha to a little more than 1 ha; home range size was maximal during first winter; fall densities were 10/ha (Trent and Rungstad 1974). In Pennsylvania, annual female home range averaged about 2 ha; male range was similar except in spring and summer when it increased to average of 7-8 ha; little or no overlap of home ranges of females (Althoff and Storm 1989). Post-reproductive density was up to 27-28 per ha in Texas.

In southeastern Illinois tallgrass prairie eastern cottontails preferred3-year postfire communities that had not been mowed over unburned plotsand 3-year postfire plots that had been mowed [64]. In south-centralIowa prescribed fires resulted in declines in eastern cottontail habitatquality during the first few postfire months, but habitat qualityimproved thereafter until it met or exceeded prefire levels [24].

In Oklahoma Cross Timbers habitats, pastures (some in post oak-blackjackoak stands) were treated with herbicides (two types) in 1983 to controlshrubs, then burned in 1985 to maintain shrub control. There was agradual decline in eastern cottontail populations on all treatmentswhich was attributed to population cyclicity. However, easterncottontail density was higher on herbicide-only treated pastures and onherbicide-burned pastures than on plots that were not treated withherbicide and not burned. The herbicide treatments reduced shrub heightbut increased stem density. Fire encouraged the growth of herbaceousplants. The authors concluded that herbicide with or without fire hasno adverse impacts on resident eastern cottontail populations, and thattreatment areas had more preferred habitat than control areas [41].

In Alabama shortleaf pine-hardwood woodlands eastern cottontailpopulations were similar on annually and biennially burned plots.Annually burned plots usually had little fuel and thus experiencedlow-severity fire that burned less than 50 percent of abovegroundvegetation. On biennially burned plots fuels were plentiful andsupported severe fire that removed all herbaceous vegetation. Easterncottontails chose artificial brushpiles more frequently on bienniallyburned plots than on annually burned plots in immediate postfireperiods. Eastern cottontails moved off of severe fire plots during theimmediate postfire period [36,57].

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Timing of Major Life History Events

Diurnal Activity: Eastern cottontails are crepuscular to nocturnalfeeders; although they usually spend most of the daylight hours restingin shallow depressions under vegetative cover or other shelter; theycan be seen at any time of day [17,48]. Eastern cottontails are mostactive when visibility is limited, such as rainy or foggy nights [27].Eastern cottontails usually move only short distances, and they mayremain sitting very still for up to 15 minutes at a time [48].

Breeding Season: The onset of breeding varies between populations andwithin populations from year to year. The eastern cottontail breedingseason begins later with higher latitudes and elevations. Temperaturerather than diet has been suggested as a primary factor controllingonset of breeding; many studies correlate severe weather with delays inthe onset of breeding [10]. In New England breeding occurs from Marchto September [17]. In New York the breeding season occurs from Februaryto September, in Connecticut from mid-March to mid-September. InAlabama the breeding season begins in January. In Georgia the breedingseason lasts 9 months and in Texas breeding occurs year-round [10,48].Populations in western Oregon breed from late January to early September[10]. Mating is promiscuous [27].

Gestation and Development of Young: The nest is a slanting hole dug insoft soil and lined with vegetation and fur. The average measurementsare: length 7.09 inches (18.03 cm), width 4.9 inches (12.57 cm), anddepth 4.71 inches (11.94 cm) [9]. The average period of gestation is28 days, ranging from 25 to 35 days [48]. Eastern cottontail young areborn with a very fine coat of hair and are blind. Their eyes begin toopen by 4 to 7 days. Young begin to move out of the nest for shorttrips by 12 to 16 days and are completely weaned and independent by 4to 5 weeks [9,48,63]. Litters disperse at about 7 weeks [17]. Femalesdo not stay in the nest with the young but return to the opening of thenest to nurse, usually twice a day [48,63].

Reproductive Potential: Reproductive maturity occurs at about 2 to 3months of age. A majority of females first breed the spring followingbirth [17]; but 10 to 36 percent of females breed as juveniles (i.e.,summer of the year they were born) [52]. A typical litter in NewEngland is four or five young, ranging from three to eight [17]. InMaryland the average litter size is 5.01 young, and ranges from 1 to 12.In the South female eastern cottontails have more litters per year (upto 7) but fewer young per litter [10,48]. In New England female easterncottontails have three or four litters per year [17]. The annualproductivity of females may be as high as 35 young [48]. Mammalian lifetables were compiled by Millar and Zammuto [45] and include easterncottontail data. Wainright [63] reviewed the literature on easterncottontail reproduction.

Mortality/Survivorship: In Kansas the largest cause of mortality ofradiotracked eastern cottontails was predation (43%), followed byresearch mortalities (19%), and tularemia (18%) [3]. A major cause ofeastern cottontail mortality is collision with automobiles. In Missouriit was estimated that 10 eastern cottontails are killed annually permile of road. The peak period of highway mortality is in spring (Marchthrough May); roadside vegetation greens up before adjacent fields andis highly attractive to eastern cottontails [52].

Annual adult survival is estimated at 20 percent. Average longevity is15 months in the wild; the longest lived wild individual on record was 5years old. Captive eastern cottontails have lived to at least 9 yearsof age [48].

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Life History and Behavior

Behavior

Eastern cottontails have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell. Eastern cottontails make many sounds. They have cries of worry that are used to startle an enemy and warn others of danger. They grunt if predators approach a nesting female and her litter. They also make squeals during mating.

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Communication and Perception

Eastern cottontails have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell. Eastern cottontails make many sounds. They have cries of worry that are used to startle an enemy and warn others of danger. They grunt if predators approach a nesting female and her litter. They also make squeals during mating.

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Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

Maximum longevity: 9.8 years (captivity) Observations: In the wild, these animals appear to live up to 5 years. In captivity, they have been reported to live more than 9 years (http://www.demogr.mpg.de/longevityrecords). One captive specimen lived 8.4 years at Tulsa Zoo (Richard Weigl 2005). There are anecdotal reports, which may be true, of one animal living 9.8 years in captivity (Steven Austad, pers. comm.). Other estimates suggest they may live over 10 years (Chapman et al. 1980), but this is unverified.

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Reproduction

A mating pair performs an interesting ritual before copulation. This usually occurs after dark. The buck chases the doe until she eventually turns and faces him. She then spars at him with her forepaws. They crouch, facing each other, until one of the pair leaps about 2 feet in the air. This behavior is repeated by both animals before mating.

Mating System: polygynous

The beginning of reproductive activity in the eastern cottontail is related to the onset of the adult molt. Sexual maturity occurs around 2 to 3 months. An average of 25% of young are produced by juveniles (Banfield, 1981). Bucks are in breeding condition by mid-February and are active until September. Does are polyoestrus, with their first heat occurring in late February. The time of initial reproductive activity varies with latitude and elevation, occurring later at higher conditions of both. The onset of breeding is also controlled by temperature, availability of succulent vegetation and the change in photoperiod (Chapman et al., 1980). Does can have anywhere from 1 to 7 litters per year, but average 3 to 4. Gestation is typically between 25 and 28 days. A few days before the birth of her young, the doe prepares a grass and fur-lined nest. The nest is usually in a hollow beneath a shrub or a log or in tall grass. Litter size varies from 1 to 12 neonates with an average of 5. The newborns weigh 25 to 35 g, and are altricial; they are blind and naked. The young grow rapidly, initially about 2.5 g a day. Their eyes open around day 4 or 5, and they can leave the nest after about two weeks. The litter receives minimal care from their mother; they are nursed once or twice daily. Weaning occurs between 16 and 22 days. Litter mates become intolerant of each other and disperse at around seven weeks. The doe mates soon after her first litter, and she is often near the end of gestation as the current litter is leaving the nest.

Breeding interval: Does can have 1 to 7 litters in a year, but average 3 to 4.

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Eastern cottontails usually breed from February until September. The exact time of breeding depends on the temperature, food, and light. These rabbits are able to begin breeding at 2 to 3 months old. Females can have anywhere from 1 to 7 litters per year but usually have 3 to 4. Litter size varies from 1 to 12 babies with an average of 5. Females are pregnant for 25 to 28 days before they give birth to their young. The babies are born without fur and blind. The babies usually weigh 25 to 35g at birth. Young open their eyes at 4 to 7 days old. They move out of the nest at 12 to 16 days old. They are independent at 4 to 5 weeks old.

Breeding interval: Does can have 1 to 7 litters in a year, but average 3 to 4.

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Sylvilagus floridanus is the most widely distributed species of Sylvilagus and is abundant throughout its range (Chapman et al. 1980). This species has been introduced in regions of North America and Europe, and is expanding its range by displacing other Leporids (Chapman and Ceballos 1990).

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Trends

Population

Sylvilagus floridanus is abundant and widespread, and is a highly effective colonizer. New populations of S. floridanus have been successfully introduced outside its range, and in some cases, S. floridanus has been known to displace native Leporids, including S. transitionalis (Chapman and Ceballos 1990). Peak densities have been recorded at eight to ten individuals per ha (Chapman and Ceballos 1990).

In Virginia, the population has declined over the past fifty years or so. This decline may be due to the loss of early successional habitat that is being turned into farmland and is exacerbated by an increase in the cottontail's predators. In most years, 80% or more of the adult cottontails are killed. However, in areas where there is good habitat there are still abundant populations (Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries).

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Threats

Although abundant, subpopulations of Sylvilagus floridanus are at risk from hunting pressure (sport and local subsistence) throughout its range, human perturbation, and predation from invasive alien species. In some locations it is threatened by livestock competition and habitat fragmentation.

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Management

Conservation Actions

Sylvilagus floridanus is the most important regulated game animal in the USA. While S. floridanus does not appear to be declining, it has spread and has been introduced widely outside its original range, where it sometimes presents a threat to sympatric species, such as S. transitionalis in north-eastern USA (Chapman and Ceballos 1990).

Research is needed regarding taxonomy, distribution, population size, and to determine how S. floridanus affects other species.

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Use of Fire in Population Management

Prescribed fire is the most useful tool for enhancing eastern cottontailhabitat since it can be used to control the amount of brushy cover andavailable forage [9]. In New York prescribed fire every third year inshrub stands within pitch pine-oak woodlands maintains shrub coveradequate for eastern cottontails [49].

In Pennsylvania manipulation of hawthorn (Crataegus spp.) and alder(Alnus spp.) can be achieved with prescribed fire. Hawthorns are animportant food for eastern cottontails in the area, and can beencouraged by periodic application of fire, since hawthorns sprout aftertop-kill by fire [8].

In the Southeast pine woodlands are managed with frequent fire; easterncottontail habitat is usually at least adequate in managed pine stands.Additional benefits of fire include reduction of eastern cottontailparasites. Pine plantations are good eastern cottontail habitat for thefirst five growing seasons after site preparation. They deterioratewith increased canopy closure and do not improve until prescribed fire(usually initiated in the ninth season) and/or thinning (usuallyinitiated in the fifteenth season) are implemented. To benefit easterncottontails, fire should be used at a frequency sufficient to maintainopen conditions and discourage broomsedge, but at long enough intervalsto retain some shrub cover and winter browse. There is a need tobalance annual fire, which increases summer forage, and longer-intervalfires to maintain shrubby areas. Prescribed fire for eastern cottontailmanagement therefore needs to be planned so as to leave patches of areasin different postfire stages, with sufficient annual burn plots toprovide summer forage [32].

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Management Considerations

The eastern cottontail has major economic importance as a game speciesfor both meat and fur production; it is also of economic importance asprey of furbearers (bobcat, coyote, foxes etc.) [25,34]. Since easternpopulations remain relatively stable they are an important prey item forthe endangered red wolf (Canis rufus) breeding population at GulfIslands National Seashore [55]. Eastern cottontails are potential preyfor the endangered black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), particularlyin prairie dog (Cynomys spp.) colonies [31]. The eastern cottontail iscommon in suburban to urban areas and is an economically important pestthere as well as in in farmlands and tree plantations [26,48].Transplantation of eastern cottontail populations has had impacts onother species; in New England the decline of the New England cottontail(Sylvilagus transitionalis) has been attributed at least in part toeastern cottontail introduction [9,48].

Population Status: In Illinois eastern cottontails increased inabundance with agricultural development in the early postsettlementperiod [42]. However, more recent changes in intensity of agriculture,which have reduced the amount and size of areas of suitable habitat,have contributed to a decline in eastern cottontail populations [1,25].Reduced eastern cottontail numbers are associated with the decrease inthe number and size of individual farms and the amount of land devotedto hay and oats because of increased emphasis on more valuable grains[19]. Other changes include reductions in grasslands, reductions instream and river bottom forests and woodlots, and plowing of weedy andbrushy pastures [1,25]. In Illnois population indices for the period1956 to 1978 indicate declines of at least 70 percent statewide, and 90to 95 percent in intensively farmed areas [19]. In Ohio easterncottontail abundance declined by 70 percent from 1956 to 1983 in spiteof efforts to maintain populations [7]. In Kentucky conversion ofpastures to tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea) has reduced easterncottontail reproductive rates because of the presence of an unpalatableendophytic fungus (Acremonium ceonophialum) associated with the tallfescue [25]. Boyd [7] reviewed causes of eastern cottontail populationdeclines.

Pest Control: Lethal control methods (trapping, shooting) are expensiveand effective only in the short term. Nonlethal control methods arealso expensive but often effective. Exclosures and repellants are themost effective methods to reduce damage by rabbits. Silviculturalpractices that reduce cover in and around plantations, particularly onroadsides, are the most effective way to reduce rabbit damage [26].

Habitat management: In most areas eastern cottontail habitat can beimproved by the interspersion of old fields with briar thickets andcreation of edge by breaking up large areas of monocultures. Artificialcover in the form of brush piles 13 to 20 feet (4-6 m) in diameter and 3to 7 feet (1-2 m) high is effective for up to 5 years. Shrub plantingsshould include thorny species that maintain a low, dense coverresembling multiflora rose (multiflora rose is not recommended becauseof its propensity to spread into other areas [10]). Prescribed fire canbe used to improve cover (see FIRE ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT) [1,9]. Anyactivity that reduces cover, such as burning followed by grazing,decreases habitat quality [1,10].

In southwestern ponderosa pine forests cottontail numbers can beincreased by management that encourages dense natural or artificialregeneration, by the retention of piled slash, or by encouragement ofherbaceous and shrub growth after timber harvest [12,13]. In centralLouisiana eastern cottontails were present in longleaf pine (Pinuspalustris)-slash pine woodlands in slightly greater numbers inregeneration stands than in sapling, sawtimber, or pole-size stands[47]. In northern Georgia, forage biomass was greater on allsite-preparation treatments after timber harvest than on unloggedcontrol sites; harvested sites are potentially better habitat foreastern cottontails, but eastern cottontails were not plentiful enoughon the site to distinguish between treatments [22]. Increasedcottontail numbers have been noted where clearcuts have increased coverin the form of slash piles, increased production of herbaceous plants,and Gambel oak sprouts. Numbers also increased in areas with denseponderosa pine reproduction around 4 to 5 feet tall (1.2-1.5 m) [12].Only agricultural land that was within 300 feet (91.4 m) of a woodlotwas used by eastern cottontails in southwestern Wisconsin [61].

Food availability is typically not the most important consideration ineastern cottontail management since it is not usually considered alimiting factor. Eastern cottontails select suitable cover overabundant food supply if cover and abundant food are not found together[1]. Korschgen [39] asserted that placement of preferred food plantsnear permanent cover improves eastern cottontail habitat andproductivity.

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Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems

Benefits

Eastern cottontails cause a great deal of damage in their search for food. They are pests to gardeners and farmers in the summer. In the winter, they are a threat to the orchardist, forester and landscaper. In addition, humans may contract the bacterial disease tularemia from handling the carcass of an infected cottontail.

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Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

Eastern cottontails cause a great deal of damage in their search for food. They are pests to gardeners and farmers in the summer. In addition, humans may contract the bacterial disease tularemia from handling the dead body of an infected cottontail.

Optimal eastern cottontail habitat includes open grassy areas, clearings, and old fields supporting abundant green grasses and herbs, with shrubs in the area or edges for cover.[7] The essential components of eastern cottontail habitat are an abundance of well-distributed escape cover (dense shrubs) interspersed with more open foraging areas such as grasslands and pastures.[8] Habitat parameters important for eastern cottontails in ponderosa pine, mixed species, and pinyon (Pinus spp.)-juniper (Juniperus spp.) woodlands include woody debris, herbaceous and shrubby understories, and patchiness. Typically eastern cottontails occupy habitats in and around farms including fields, pastures, open woods, thickets associated with fencerows, wooded thickets, forest edges, and suburban areas with adequate food and cover. They are also found in swamps and marshes and usually avoid dense woods. They are seldom found in deep woods.[3]

The eastern cottontail home range is roughly circular in uniform habitats. Eastern cottontails typically inhabit one home range throughout their lifetime, but home range shifts in response to vegetation changes and weather are common.[8] In New England eastern cottontail home ranges average 1.4 acres (0.57 ha) for adult males and 1.2 acres (0.48 ha) for adult females but vary in size from 0.5 acre to 40 acres (0.2–16.2 ha), depending on season, habitat quality, and individual. The largest ranges are occupied by adult males during the breeding season. In southwestern Wisconsin adult male home ranges averaged 6.9 acres (2.8 ha) in spring, increased to 10 acres (4.0 ha) in early summer, and decreased to 3.7 acres (1.5 ha) by late summer.[9] Daily activity is usually restricted to 10% to 20% of the overall home range.[8]

In southeastern Wisconsin home ranges of males overlapped by up to 50%, but female home ranges did not overlap by more than 25% and actual defense of range by females occurred only in the immediate area of the nest. Males fight each other to establish dominance hierarchy and mating priority.[9]

Eastern cottontails forage in open areas and use brush piles, stone walls with shrubs around them, herbaceous and shrubby plants, and burrows or dens for escape cover, shelter, and resting cover. Woody cover is extremely important for the survival and abundance of eastern cottontails.[8] Eastern cottontails do not dig their own dens (other than nest holes) but use burrows dug by other species such as woodchucks.[3] In winter when deciduous plants are bare eastern cottontails forage in less secure cover and travel greater distances.[8] Eastern cottontails probably use woody cover more during the winter, particularly in areas where cover is provided by herbaceous vegetation in summer.[10] In Florida slash pine flatwoods, eastern cottontails use low saw-palmetto (Serenoa repens) patches for cover within grassy areas.[11]

In nest, under production

Most nest holes are constructed in grasslands (including hayfields).[8] The nest is concealed in grasses or weeds. Nests are also constructed in thickets, orchards, and scrubby woods.[3] In southeastern Illinois tall-grass prairie, eastern cottontail nests were more common in undisturbed prairie grasses than in high-mowed or hayed plots. In Iowa most nests were within 70 yards (64.2 m) of brush cover in herbaceous vegetation at least 4 inches (10 cm) tall. Nests in hayfields were in vegetation less than 8 inches (20 cm) tall. Average depth of nest holes is 5 inches (12 cm), average width 5 inches (12.5 cm), and average length 7 inches (18 cm). The nest is lined with grass and fur.[10][12]

The eastern cottontail is chunky red-brown or gray-brown in appearance with large hind feet, long ears and a short fluffy white tail. Its underside fur is white. There is a rusty patch on the tail. Its appearance differs from that of a hare in that it has a brownish-gray coloring around the head and neck. The body is lighter color with a white underside on the tail. It has large brown eyes and large ears to see and listen for danger. In winter the cottontail's pelage is more gray than brown. The kits develop the same coloring after a few weeks, but they also have a white blaze that goes down their forehead; this marking eventually disappears. This rabbit is medium-sized, measuring 36–48 cm (14–19 in) in total length, including a small tail that averages 5.3 cm (2.1 in).[13][14] Weight can range from 800 to 2,000 g (1.8 to 4.4 lb), with an average of around 1,200 g (2.6 lb). The female tends to be heavier, although the sexes broadly overlap in size.[15][16] There may be some slightly variation in the body size of Eastern cottontails, with weights seeming to increase from south to north, in accordance with Bergmann's rule. Adult specimens from the Florida Museum of Natural History, collected in Florida, have a mean weight of 1,018 g (2.244 lb).[17] Meanwhile, 346 adult cottontails from Michigan were found to have averaged 1,445 g (3.186 lb) in mass.[18]

The eastern cottontail is a very territorial animal. When chased, it runs in a zigzag pattern, running up to 18 mph. The cottontail prefers an area where it can hide quickly but be out in the open. Forests, swamps, thickets, bushes, or open areas where shelter is close by are optimal habitation sites for this species. Cottontails do not dig burrows, but rather rest in a form, a shallow, scratched-out depression in a clump of grass or under brush. It may use the dens of groundhogs as a temporary home or during heavy snow.[19]

Eastern cottontails are crepuscular to nocturnal feeders; although they usually spend most of the daylight hours resting in shallow depressions under vegetative cover or other shelter; they can be seen at any time of day.[12] Eastern cottontails are most active when visibility is limited, such as rainy or foggy nights.[3] Eastern cottontails usually move only short distances, and they may remain sitting very still for up to 15 minutes at a time. Eastern cottontails are active year-round.[12]

The onset of breeding varies between populations and within populations from year to year. The eastern cottontail breeding season begins later with higher latitudes and elevations. Temperature rather than diet has been suggested as a primary factor controlling onset of breeding; many studies correlate severe weather with delays in the onset of breeding.[20] In New England breeding occurs from March to September. In New York the breeding season occurs from February to September, in Connecticut from mid-March to mid-September. In Alabama the breeding season begins in January. In Georgia the breeding season lasts 9 months and in Texas breeding occurs year-round.[12][20] Populations in western Oregon breed from late January to early September.[20] Mating is promiscuous.[3]

The nest is a slanting hole dug in soft soil and lined with vegetation and fur. The average measurements are: length 7.09 inches (18.03 cm), width 4.9 inches (12.57 cm), and depth 4.71 inches (11.94 cm).[10] The average period of gestation is 28 days, ranging from 25 to 35 days.[12] Eastern cottontail young are born with a very fine coat of hair and are blind. Their eyes begin to open by 4 to 7 days. Young begin to move out of the nest for short trips by 12 to 16 days and are completely weaned and independent by 4 to 5 weeks.[10][21] Litters disperse at about 7 weeks. Females do not stay in the nest with the young but return to the opening of the nest to nurse, usually twice a day.[12][21]

Reproductive maturity occurs at about 2 to 3 months of age. A majority of females first breed the spring following birth; but 10% to 36% of females breed as juveniles (i.e., summer of the year they were born).[22] Males will mate with more than one female. Female rabbits can have 1 to 7 litters of 1 to 12 young, called kits, in a year; however, the average number of litters per year is 3–4 and the average number of kits is 5.[14] In the South female eastern cottontails have more litters per year (up to 7) but fewer young per litter.[12][20] In New England female eastern cottontails have three or four litters per year. The annual productivity of females may be as high as 35 young.[12][21]

The diet of eastern cottontails is varied and largely dependent on availability. Eastern cottontails eat vegetation almost exclusively; arthropods have occasionally been found in pellets.[23] Some studies list as many as 70[23] to 145 plant species in local diets. Food items include bark, twigs, leaves, fruit, buds, flowers, grass seeds, sedge fruits, and rush seeds.[10] There is a preference for small material: branches, twigs, and stems up to 0.25 inch (0.6 cm). Leporids including eastern cottontails are coprophagous, producing two types of fecal pellets, one of which is consumed. The redigestion of pellets greatly increases the nutritional value of dietary items.[10][12]

In Kansas the largest cause of mortality of radiotracked eastern cottontails was predation (43%), followed by research mortalities[clarification needed] (19%), and tularemia (18%). A major cause of eastern cottontail mortality is collision with automobiles. In Missouri it was estimated that 10 eastern cottontails are killed annually per mile of road. The peak period of highway mortality is in spring (March through May); roadside vegetation greens up before adjacent fields and is highly attractive to eastern cottontails.[22]

Annual adult survival is estimated at 20%. Average longevity is 15 months in the wild; the longest lived wild individual on record was 5 years old. Captive eastern cottontails have lived to at least 9 years of age.[12]

The Eastern Cottontail has to contend with many predators, both natural and introduced. Due to their often large populations in Eastern North America, they form a major component of several predators' diets. Major predators of eastern cottontail include domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), foxes (Vulpes and Urocyon spp.), coyote (C. latrans), bobcat (Lynx rufus), domestic cat (Felis catus), weasels (Mustela spp.), raccoon (Procyon lotor), mink (M. vison), great horned owl (Bubo virginianus), barred owl (Strix varia), hawks (principally Buteo spp.), corvids (Corvus spp.), and snakes.[3]

Predators that take nestlings include raccoon, badger (Taxidea taxus), skunks (Mephitis and Spilogale spp.), and Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana).[22] In central Missouri eastern cottontails comprised the majority of biomass in the diet of red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) during the nesting season. In Pennsylvania the chief predator of eastern cottontails is the great horned owl.[22] In the Southwest cottontails including eastern cottontail comprise 7 to 25% of the diets of northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). In Texas eastern cottontails are preyed on by coyotes more heavily in early spring and in fall than in summer or winter. In southwestern North Dakota cottontails (both eastern and desert cottontail Sylvilagus auduboni) were major prey items in the diets of bobcats.[24]

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Names and Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Comments: Based on a study of cranial, mandibular, and dental variation, Ruedas (1998) proposed that S. floridanus robustus of Trans-Pecos Texas be recognized as a distinct species, and he suggested that some other subspecies of S. floridanus (S. f. holzneri, S. f. cognatus) also may warrant recognition as separate species. Sylvilagus robustus has been treated as a species in the past but in recent decades generally has been included as a subspecies of S. floridanus. In this database, we follow the North American mammal checklist by Baker et al. (2003) in accepting S. robustus as a valid species. Additionally, following Hoffmann and Smith (in Wilson and Reeder 2005) we recognize S. cognatus of the Manzano Mountains, New Mexico, as a distinct species.

MtDNA data indicate that hybridization is not occurring between S. floridanus and S. transitionalis/obscurus (Litvaitis 1997).

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The currently accepted scientific name for eastern cottontail isSylvilagus floridanus (J. A. Allen) [9,10,28,48]. Chapman and others[10] listed 35 accepted subspecies, the majority of which occur inMexico. It has been remarked that extensive transplantation of easterncottontails throughout this century has rendered subspecificdesignations somewhat meaningless, particularly in eastern NorthAmerica. The type subspecies locale is Florida [11].